Colossus: The Forbin Project

So that you will learn by experience that I do not tolerate interference, I will now detonate the nuclear warheads.

Yes, they did make thrillers about AI all the way back in 1970, and COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT was one of my favorites as a very young film buff. Thanks to great writing, a strong cast and suspenseful direction, it still holds up 55 years after its release!

Deep in the cold war, the USA develops a massive super computer buried underground. As the film opens, we watch its creator, Dr. Charles Forbin (Eric Braeden) fire it up, giant banks of computers lighting up as far as the eye can see in either direction. The filmmakers make the absolute best use of their budget, blending some impressive practical sets with exceptional matte paintings by the legendary Albert Whitlock (The Andromeda Strain, The Thing, Earthquake). Production Designer Alexander Golitzen was a Universal Studios legend at the time as well, behind 70's hits like "Airport", "Play Misty for Me" and "The Beguiled". COLOSSUS is a fine example for pre-CGI 70's special effects at their best.

Shortly after Forbin turns on the AI beast, it communicates that it's found a nearly identical Russian version named Guardian. Both systems, built to prevent nuclear war, quickly begin chatting and take the world to the brink. Future films all the way from "Wargames"in 1983 to 2025's "A House of Dynamite" have their roots in Colossus.

What this tight little thriller gets absolutely right is its careful building of real characters and the tightening of its conspiracy drama screws to a plausible ending.

Braeden (Escape from the Planet of the Apes) is terrific as Forbin, typically the calm voice in the room, which makes him the only human that Colossus wants to converse with.

Gordon Pinsent (The Thomas Crown Affair) is our JFK-mold President with great intentions, blindsided by the existence of the USSR version and how quickly the world changes when global superpowers are upended.

Susan Clark (Coogan's Bluff, Airport 1975) is Dr, Markham, Forbin's right hand scientist. She and Forbin's relationship is fascinating to watch as Colossus takes more and more control of Forbin's life and starts carrying out assassinations and spy work on every level to maintain complete control.

"Happy Days' fans should watch for Marion Ross as a key member of Forbin's scientific team a few years before she became America's favorite mom on the 70's sitcom classic.

The computer's underground location in the Rockies mirrors the real-life Norad settings still in place today. Over $5 million (a lot more money in 1970 than it is today!) worth of real, state of the art (for the time) computers were used in the main control room set, giving it much more authenticity than the usual cardboard walls with blinking lights that hit most screens in that era.

Steven Spielberg, just signed by Universal was on set for most of the production as a very young observer. Watching Director Joseph Sargent on set proved fruitful! As a side note, it's sad that Sargent is mostly remembered today as Director of all-time turkey "JAWS 4: The Revenge", instead of this film and the terrific 1974 thriller, "The Taking of Pelham 123".

Spielberg isn't the only major director with ties to this film. James Cameron has said how much he loved it and cites it as a major influence in his creation of the Terminator films.

If you wanted to have an early 70's sci-fi binge, watch this, Robert Wise's "The Andromeda Strain" and Crichton's "Westworld" for a killer triple feature.

Eerie, effective, still relevant and culminating in an ending that's as unsettling now as it was 5+ decades ago, COLOSSUS gets a nostalgic B.